Preferred route for underground electricity cabling through Lincolnshire to connect Denmark to UK

David Seymour

The team behind a proposed electricity connection between the UK and Denmark have chosen a preferred route for underground cabling that would run through Lincolnshire as part of the project.

The so-called Viking Link would see cabling being laid from Denmark to a National Grid substation at Bicker Fen, near Boston.

Bicker Fen Substation.

Those behind the scheme – estimated to cost two billion Euros – say it would help provide the UK with a secure supply of affordable energy and move it towards greener sources of power.

The project is being developed in co-operation between National Grid Viking Link (NGVL) and Energinet.dk, the Danish electricity transmission system operator.

During September and October this year, NGVL held a consultation on two cable route corridor options – dubbed purple and orange.

These would provide room for a pair of underground direct current electricity cables and an optional smaller fibre optic cable, running between the preferred landfall site at Boygrift, near Sandilands, East Lindsey, and the preferred converter station site at North Ing Drove, near Donington.

An example of cable laying vessel.

Today (Wednesday), it was revealed the project has identified purple as the preferred option.

Subject to survey, the team believes this is best placed to balance potential impacts on the environment and local communities, with technical and engineering requirements.

The benefits of the purple route corridor, they say, include:

- Avoids larger settlements which will help to reduce potential construction impacts

- Avoids the lower lying coastal areas, where there is a higher water table and more watercourses and drains to cross

- Provides more opportunities for direct access to the construction works from existing roads

Oliver Wood, National Grid Viking Link project director, said: “Local opinion played an important part in this decision. We selected this purple route corridor as our preferred cable corridor after careful consideration of all the feedback received during the consultation we held between September and October, along with the results of environmental and technical assessments.

“We’d like to thank everyone who took part in the consultation and came along to our events in Lincolnshire. Over the coming months, we will continue to work with landowners and carry out further technical and environmental surveys to help us develop the detailed route alignment for the underground cables.”

The consultation also invited thoughts on the design options for the proposed converter station. This feedback will be discussed with South Holland District Council prior to a planning application being made and as we work with them to develop a detailed design code for the converter station.

Following public consultation in the spring, NGVL announced a preferred landfall location where the onshore underground cables will be connected to the subsea/submarine cables, at Boygrift, near Sandillands, East Lindsey. The team also confirmed a preferred site for the converter station at North Ing Drove.